|
Yard Sales. You see them everywhere and on most every nice weekend during the summer months. Have you ever wondered if all that hard work is worth it? It most certainly can be. Yard sales, for some unknown reason, draw in a large group of people. Do you have an attic full of items you’ve accumulated over the years? Turn those items into cash. It’s easy enough to do and while you’re at it - it’s great fun!
Plan a yard sale a few weeks in advance and choose a weekend that you know the weather is going to be nice. Most people will set up yard sales on Saturdays when the working folks are out running the errands they don’t have time to do during the week. Nice weather also puts most people in great moods so you shouldn’t get too many grumps visiting your yard sale. Make your yard sale appealing to the eye. Arrange all your items by size, smaller items in the front and larger items in a row behind. Leave plenty of space for people to walk around and browse. Too much clutter is distracting to the eye.
Find a location that’s in a high traffic area for your yard sale. Ask your local businesses if they’d mind if you set up in front of their office building. Most business owners are more than happy to let you as long as you promise to straighten up the area before you leave. Some will even post flyers on their building advertising your yard sale for you.
Another avenue to look at is a multi-family yard sale. This adds even more attraction to the public and can also be great fun for you. It’s a good way to spend time with neighbors and friends.
Once you’ve planned your date and your location it’s then time to start digging out the attic, closets and cellar. You’d be surprised, or maybe not, of how much you actually have stored away over the years. Carefully wash and inspect each piece/item you select for the yard sale. Make sure it’s in fairly good shape, free of cracks, dings or nicks. Make sure it’s clean. There’s nothing worse than finding an item of interest at a yard sale only to notice it’s filthy with years of dust and grime. People are attracted to clean, shiny and new looking items unless of course it’s an antique then it’s a whole other ball game.
Carefully go through each item and list them on a piece of paper. Decide what you want for each piece and label it with a price. A customer will more than likely try to negotiate the price but that’s all part of the fun. Price your items a little higher than what you want for them and then let the customer bargain with you. They’ll be happy when you let it go for less than what’s on the sticker price.
The next step is to advertise your yard sale. This can be as simple or as extravagant as you want to make it. The cheaper, simpler route is to post flyers around town. Concentrate on the local grocery stores, the town library, the Laundromats, places where people visit frequently. Shopping centers and stores are great about letting you post flyers in their windows or on their bulletin boards and it’s all free.
The morning of the yard sale make sure you’re up early and setting up early. You want to catch the busiest time of day and this is usually early to mid-morning on a Saturday. An added attraction is to set up a percolator/coffee machine, baked fresh foods and have a bake sale at the same time. The customers will appreciate the fresh munchies and hot coffee. Not only will they relax, they will spend more time browsing the merchandise. Have fun at selling your items, make it a family affair and let your children sell some of their used items as well. Not only do you get rid of items that were just cluttering up your space but you can also make hundreds of dollars from a one day yard sale and have a great time doing it.
| 
